Housing options for a soldier

Mark, a soldier in the Territorial Army, was severely injured in 2003, while serving in Iraq. He was blinded in his one eye and had serious lower back injuries. He was medically discharged from the Army the following year. Mark’s injuries prevented him from returning to a normal life and as his physical condition did not improve, his mental health started to decline as well. According to his wife Kellie, Mark “went to the Army as a young man and he came back from the Army as an old man”.

Mark and Kellie contacted Housing Options Scotland (HOS) in March this year.

“We’ve gone from having no clue on what to do to now moving to our own house in July,” says Kellie. “The whole team at HOS has been amazing. They’ve got compassion. They have listened to us carefully and have perfectly understood our needs. I just wish we had found them sooner!”

Everything went very quickly for the family of five. HOS not only helped them to move back to Roybridge, they also helped them to achieve a dream: buying their own house.

“HOS put us in touch with a mortgage advisor. We had a little bit of savings and with the help of the LIFT scheme, we’ve now been able to secure a mortgage that is cheaper than our current rent!”.

On 1 July, the whole family moved to a lovely four-bedroom terraced house in the quiet village of Roybridge.

“We are looking forward to our future now. We know we are going to be happy there! It is a slower pace of life and we will have friends and family for support.”

It will also take a lot of pressure off Kellie, who used to worry when she had to be away for work. Charlie, Sophie and Ewan are equally excited about their new life. They will have their own bedroom and a front and back garden to burn all their energy.